[Lust Talent Tree Rejuvenation Process: 26%]

[Living Arts: 30%]

[Primal Soul: 20%]

[Elder Arts: 20%]

[Name: Nine Illusion Strike]

[Type: Active]

[Description: A rapid chain of feints and strikes aimed at different angles. The opponent sees multiple attacks coming at once and cannot tell which one is real. The real strike lands where their guard is weakest.]

[Name: Heart Stealing Claw]

[Type: Active]

[Description: A precise clawing strike aimed at the chest, throat, or ribs. It mimics a fox snatching prey in a single motion. Fast, quiet, and lethal.]

[Name: Seductive Spiral]

[Type: Active]

[Description: A grappling technique where the user wraps around the opponent’s arm or body. They appear close and vulnerable but actually control the opponent’s balance. One twist dislocates the shoulder or snaps the neck.]

[Name: Crimson Fox Kiss]

[Type: Active]

[Description: You slip inside the opponent’s guard, touch the throat or heart with two fingers, and release a burst of demonic energy. To an observer it looks like a gentle touch, the victim collapses seconds later.]

[Name: Five-Tailed Kitsune Physiology]

[Type: Passive / Transformation]

[Description: Upon activation of Infernal Transformation Skill, you will automatically gain the traits of a five-tailed kitsune, gaining complete control over this form.]

Damian stared at the abilities floating before him. His face remained expressionless. He invested one hundred talent points and this was what he got?

His eyes slowly narrowed. All of them were martial techniques and the final reward was practically just an improvement to something he already possessed.

This was honestly the first time he genuinely felt cheated while upgrading his talent tree.

Damian stood there silently for several seconds, then his head slowly turned as his gaze swept left to Rin. Standing several meters behind him was Rin, with its back turned on him.

Damian stared at it for a moment, waiting for his gaze to be acknowledged but Rin remained frozen. He began walking toward it and immediately Rin rotated, still keeping its back toward him.

Damian stopped and his eyes twitched with annoyance. He changed direction and Rin turned again, maintaining its back facing him.

"Bloody coward." Damian cursed.

"Bastard, I’m the creation, not the creator!" Rin puffed its tails angrily.

Damian folded his arms and shook his head dismissively.

"Same thing."

Rin’s ears twitched violently at those words but it said nothing. Damian, on the other hand, looked back at the talent tree and took a long breath. Complaining would not refund his points.

Pushing those thoughts aside he reluctantly returned his attention to the tree. Without hesitation he started pouring points into Primal Soul.

Ten... Twenty... Thirty...

Ding!

[Name: Soul Weight]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Release the weight of your existence upon others. Targets feel as though a mountain is pressing against their soul.]

Damian’s head snapped behind him instantly and he caught Rin peeking. The fox immediately looked away and started whistling and Damian stared at it for several seconds before he returned his attention to the skill.

His expression became thoughtful as he considered the use of his new ability. Actually, this one was not completely useless.

He had intimidated people before with his aura alone so he understood the importance of abilities like this. He imagined standing before someone and dropping invisible pressure until they collapsed.

That sounded cool but its combat value was the issue. Intimidating people sounded nice but compared to everything else its direct value still felt lacking.

"Thieving motherfuckers..." he cursed and Rin immediately turned. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Ooh come on." The fox raised both paws. "It can’t be that bad."

"That’s actually a pretty good ability."

Damian immediately looked over and Rin froze turned away again

"Yeah, you better hide." Damian nodded.

He returned his attention to the tree and invested more points in it.

Forty... Fifty... Sixty... Seventy... Eighty... Ninety... One hundred.

Ding!

[Name: Throne Manifestation]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Summon the Throne of Lust. While seated, all authority abilities multiply.]

Damian’s eyes widened.

"Ooh?"

Now this was something. Damian’s irritation eased immediately as he studied further. This ability had peak aura farming capabilities. His mind immediately imagined himself sitting calmly while entire armies charged at him only to get eradicated with him moving a muscle.

This was by far the best unlock today. But of course, his jubilation vanished as his expression darkened again.

"But this is seventy points we are talking about." Damian said with a twister face. "No, that’s one hundred and seventy!"

He wasn’t going to exclude the points he invested into Living Arts.

"I had to waste that much just to get something decent." His complained "God will punish you for this, Rin!"

"BASTARD, I’M NOT THE CREATOR! I WAS CREATED!" Rin exploded.

Damian shrugged lazily. "Same thing."

Rin looked like he was going to bite at any moment but Damian kept taunting.

"Just pray I get my money’s worth from Elder Art or we might have to throw hands here." Damian threatened with glowing eyes.

Rin immediately jumped onto its hind legs as its tails flared dramatically.

"Bring it on bitch. Any day, any time." Rin snarled.

The two stared at each other in silence for several seconds, then they burst into loud laughter. Damian held his stomach while Rin rolled on the water surface.

Eventually the laughter settled and Damian exhaled lightly. His eyes returned toward the floating panel while Rin hopped onto his shoulder and sat comfortably.

Damian stared at the Elder Arts branch for a moment. After everything he had experienced today, his expectations had already fallen to the bottom. At this point he was fully prepared to receive something ridiculous like Divine Toe Flick or Sacred Ear Twist and move on with life.

Ten... Twenty... Thirty...

Ding!

The floating panel shimmered softly and immediately, a new window unfolded before him.

[Name: Finger of God]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Temporarily penetrate across space and dimensions to protect a prayerful devotee.]

Buzz!

"Oooh shit..." Damian blinked in disbelief. "That’s pretty good."

For the first time since upgrading the talent tree his disappointment disappeared instantly. His eyes remained fixed on the description as his mind immediately began running through possibilities.